Page 34 of A Love That Broke Us
He keeps going, pulling each drawer open and giving me the full rundown.
I hug my pillow tight to my chest, resting my chin on top, a smile planting itself on my face—even though my head’s pounding and I feel like crap.
He finishes his presentation, then slides into bed next to me, flipping on the TV. He finds the sports channel and turns the volume down low.
I close my eyes, sinking deeper into the mattress, soaking up the comfort of our new bed.Ournew bed.
“Are you picturing me naked?”
My eyes snap open to find Jensen watching me, grinning.
“What?”
He laughs. “You had the biggest smile on your face with your eyes closed. Figured you were imagining me naked.”
“You’re so dumb.” I reach out to smack him, but he dodges it, laughing.
“I wouldn’t blame you, you know.” He smacks his lips together, his gaze settling on mine. There’s so much love in his eyes, so much adoration, it tugs at my chest. No one’s ever looked at me the way he does.
My smile deepens. “I was thinking about how comfortable this bed is… and how cool it is that it’soursnow. Not yours or mine.”
A small smile pulls at his mouth. “Yeah. It is cool.” His voice dips low and gravelly—sexy. His eyes sweep over my body, awakening all my senses.I wish I wasn’t sick.
Then his gaze returns to my face. “Tell me more about your grandma. You’ve never really talked about her.”
My eyes go misty at the mention of her. “Well… she was the best. She loved to travel. She’d go with her best friend. They were both widowed pretty young, in their fifties. I never knew my grandpa.” I pause to swallow, a sore throat setting in.Great.“Anyway, she’d always bring me back these weird dolls. I kind of hated it when I was little because I was like,what am I going to do with these?” I laugh, and Jensen’s smile grows wider. “I just wanted her to bring back some cool candy or chocolate or something. Something normal, you know?”
That pulls a laugh from him. “I mean…” He gestures toward the dolls. “I get it.”
My smile’s not going anywhere. “Anyway, as I got older, she started inviting me to her Pounce parties—it’s a fast-paced card game you play with a partner. Every Thursday night in middle school, I’d hang out with my grandma and her friends. There was always a buy-in, she’d cover mine. And when we won, she’d split the pot with me.”
“She sounds like a good time.”
“She was. She could hang with the best of them.”
His expression softens. “When did she pass?”
“A year before my mom.” I purse my lips. “That was a tough year. My grandma died, my mom was sick, and my dad… spiraled. I feel like I lost all three of the most important people in my life in the span of twelve months.”
I blink, forcing the tears back, and shift to a lighter note. “She left me her travel scrapbooks and all her romance novels—and of course, my collection of creepy dolls.”
He pulls his pillow down flat and turns, lying onto his side to face me. “I was wondering about the box of books, especially when you always use your Kindle.”
“Yeah.” My lips break into a grin. “Turns out my grandma loved a dirty book.”
“No way!”
“Oh yeah. Some of the smuttiest books I’ve ever read came from that box. I basically learned everything I know about sex from Grandma’s dirty little library.”
Jensen belts out a laugh. “Grandma’s dirty little library… Hey, is that a business idea?”
We laugh together, and I wince as the laughter spikes the pressure behind my eyes.
“I think I like Grandma,” he says, still grinning.
Our eyes lock, and even though we’ve slept in this room together for months, it feels different now, like we’re starting something new. Something permanent. Something forever.
“She would’ve loved you,” I whisper.
